Miqdad Midhat Bedirxan remains a towering figure in the history of Kurdish journalism. In 1898, 128 years ago, he published the first issue of Kurdistan in Cairo, Egypt, marking the birth of Kurdish print media.
The son of Mir Bedirxan Pasha, Miqdad Midhat was fluent in Kurdish, Turkish, Arabic, and French. His publication included a card in French, reflecting his intellectual sophistication and modern worldview. He arrived in Egypt in 1891 and released the first five issues of Kurdistan before returning to Istanbul to protect his family from the threats of Ottoman Sultan Abdulhamid II.
In 1899, he and his brother Ali Bey attempted to spark a national revolution, though unsuccessfully. Historians note that Miqdad Midhat was active in the Committee of Union and Progress. Exiled in 1906 for his political views, he later helped establish the “Kurdish Society for the Dissemination of Education” in 1910 and reportedly served as governor of Dersim for a period.
Beyond founding the first Kurdish newspaper, he also established the Kurdistan Newspaper Press in Cairo, the first Kurdish printing press. His legacy is celebrated annually on April 22, recognized across Kurdistan as Kurdish Journalism Day.
